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Name Availability
Name Availability - Selecting Your Company Name
The Name Availability Rule expressed below and how the Registrar uses the rule to approve names is not a difficult process. A form to reserve a name is no longer required, as it was historically. To avoid issues with regards to the name of your company, when applying for a license simply review and follow the information below:
R4-9-109. Name of Licensee or Applicant
- Definitions.
- Official Name of Record. The term “official name of record” means either:
- The name of the licensee on file at the Arizona Corporation Commission, if the licensee is a corporation or a limited liability company;
- The name of the licensee on file at the Secretary of State’s Office, if the licensee is a partnership; or
- The name of the licensee on a government-issued identification card, if the licensee is an individual operating as a sole proprietorship.
- Trade Name and DBA. The terms “trade name” and “DBA” each mean the name in which the licensee actually does business as a contractor.
- Official Name of Record. The term “official name of record” means either:
- General Rules about the Licensee’s Name.
- Names on a License. On any license issued by the Registrar, the Registrar must include:
- The licensee’s official name of record, and
- Any trade name used with that license.
- Name on the Bond. Every name on the licensee’s license must be on the license bond exactly as it appears on the license.
- Licensee’s Name and the License Scope. Neither a licensee’s official name of record nor its trade name may include, reference, or suggest a scope of work that is not included in the scope of the license issued by the Registrar. This prohibition does not apply if:
- The licensee holds a separate license with a scope that is included, referenced, or suggested by the licensee’s name; or
- The licensee:
- Does not use the official name of record to do business as a contractor, and
- Uses instead a trade name that does not include, reference, or suggest a scope of work that is not included in the scope of the license.
- Conducting Business Using a Name on the License. Any time a licensee conducts business in Arizona as a contractor, the licensee must conduct that business using either the official name of record or the trade name on the license issued by the Registrar.
- Names on a License. On any license issued by the Registrar, the Registrar must include:
- Rules about the Licensee’s Name at the Time of a License Application.
- Evidence of Official Name of Record. When applying for a license, the applicant must provide the Registrar with satisfactory evidence of the applicant’s official name of record.
- Applicant’s Name as Basis for Denial. The Registrar may deny an application for a license if:
- The issued license would violate this Rule; or
- Conducting business as a contractor using any name on the license would, under A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(15), constitute any false, misleading, or deceptive advertising whereby any member of the public may be misled and injured.
- Rules about the Licensee’s Request to Change Its Name on a License. If a licensee requests in writing that the Registrar change one or more names on a license, the Registrar must grant the request if:
- There has been no change in the legal form of the licensee;
- There has been no change in the ownership of the licensee;
- The licensee provides a bond rider;
- Every requested name is printed on the bond rider exactly;
- The licensee provides the fee for the name change; and
- The requested name does not violate this Rule or any provision in Chapter 10, Title 32